Fluid container for facilitating dispensing of fluid therefrom and related methods

ABSTRACT

An improved fluid container for facilitating the continuous and uninterrupted dispensing of fluid and related methods. Preferably, the fluid container includes a body having an upper portion and a lower portion. The upper portion of the body has an aperture formed therein for permitting fluid to be poured into and out of the body. A vent member is disposed in the body. The vent member has a fluid passageway allowing an external gas to pass through the vent member and into the body as fluid is poured out of the body. The vent member is permanently secured to the body.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is directed to significant improvements in fluidcontainers and more particularly liquid containers and related methods.The present invention is not limited to the type of liquid container.For example, the liquid container can take the form of a two literbottle, a five gallon paint can, an automotive motor oil container, amilk container, a metallic paint thinner container, a plasticanti-freeze container and an oil container for small engines to namejust a few. Further, the present invention is not limited to a containerof a particular size or material. Rather, the container can be formedfrom any suitable material and to any desired size.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Numerous fluid containers have been developed for containing anddispensing various fluids. Often the flow of fluid from the container isdisrupted due to the flow of air or other gas into the fluid containerat the same time the fluid stored in the container is being dispensed.For example, when pouring motor oil in a car, the flow of oil is quiteirregular due to the simultaneous flow of air into the motor oilcontainer. Some of the existing fluid containers include various typesof devices to permit air or other gas to pass into the fluid containerwhile the fluid within the container is poured out in an attempt toprevent discontinuous and/or interrupted flow of fluid out of the fluidcontainer. Examples of such devices are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos.577,410; 1,243,963; 1,950,794; 3,506,167; 5,199,613; and 5,839,625.These and other similar devices suffer from a number of inherentdisadvantages. For example, these devices often require a relativelylarge attachment member for attaching a vent device to the fluidcontainer. The vent device is purportedly designed to prevent fluid flowdisruption. The attachment member and/or the vent device occupy asignificant portion of the area of the throat of the fluid container.This is undesirable as these obstructions hamper the free flow of fluidinto and out of the fluid container. Furthermore, this is undesirablebecause a portion of the attachment member, as disclosed in U.S. Pat.No. 3,506,167, interrupts the seal between the container and closingmember, thus compromising the integrity of the seal and possiblyallowing leakage. Moreover, the presence of an attachment member addscost and complexity to the manufacturing process that preclude commonacceptance in the market.

Other proposed solutions require that the fluid container be modified toaccommodate a venting device purportedly designed to prevent disruptionin the flow of fluid from a container. This is undesirable because thefabrication process and associated tooling have to be altered. Inaddition, some of the previously know devices developed to prevent fluidflow disruption during dispensing require that either the vent device orits attachment member extend out of the fluid container such that a capor other closure member for the fluid container must be removed from thefluid container when the vent device is in use. Further, prior knownvent devices require the consumer to install the vent device in thefluid container. Moreover, previously known vent devices typicallycannot be installed prior to filling of the corresponding fluidcontainer either because the vent device will become dislodged duringfilling or obstruct the throat of the fluid container hampering thefilling process.

Accordingly, a fluid container that overcomes these and otherdisadvantages of the prior art fluid containers is desirable.

OBJECTS AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An object of the present invention is to provide a novel and unobviousfluid container and related methods.

Another object of a preferred embodiment of the present invention is toprovide a fluid container that permits fluid to be dispensed in acontinuous and uninterrupted manner.

A further object of a preferred embodiment of the present invention isto provide a vent member that can be added to a fluid container tofacilitate dispensing of fluid without otherwise modifying the fluidcontainer in any manner.

Still a further object of a preferred embodiment of the presentinvention is to provide a vent member for a fluid container that doesnot require any modification in the fabrication process of the fluidcontainer.

Yet another object of a preferred embodiment of the present invention isto provide a vent member that can be secured to a fluid container insuch a manner that the fluid container can still be filled by a highspeed-filling machine without the vent member becoming dislodged orobstructing the process of filling the container.

Still another object of a preferred embodiment of the present inventionis to provide a fluid container with a vent member that is readilyvisible through the fluid container so that an individual can properlyorient the fluid container prior to dispensing any fluid.

Yet still another object of the present invention is to provide a ventmember for a fluid container that occupies only a minor portion of thearea of the throat of the fluid container.

Yet a further object of the present invention is to provide a ventmember with securement ribs for facilitating the securement of the ventmember to a fluid container.

It must be understood that no one embodiment of the present inventionneed include all of the aforementioned objects of the present invention.Rather, a given embodiment may include one or none of the aforementionedobjects. Accordingly, these objects are not to be used to limit thescope of the claims of the present invention.

In summary, one embodiment of the present invention is directed to anapparatus for containing a fluid. The apparatus includes a body havingan upper portion and a lower portion. The upper portion of the body hasan aperture formed therein for permitting liquid to be poured into andout of the body. A vent member is disposed in the body. The vent memberhas a fluid passageway that allows an external gas to pass through thevent member and into the body as liquid is poured out of the body. Thevent member is permanently secured to the body.

Another embodiment of the present invention is directed to an apparatusfor containing a fluid. The apparatus includes a body having an upperportion and a lower portion. The upper portion of the body has anaperture formed therein for permitting liquid to be poured into and outof the body. A vent member is disposed in the body. The vent member hasfirst and second ends. The first end of the vent member is positionedadjacent the aperture formed in the upper portion of the body. Thesecond end of the vent member is removed from the aperture formed in theupper portion of the body. The first end and the second end of the ventmember each have an opening formed therein. The vent member has a fluidpassageway for connecting the opening formed in the first end to theopening formed in the second end to allow for an external gas to passthrough the vent member and into the body as liquid is poured out of thebody. The vent member is permanently secured to the body.

A further embodiment of the present invention is directed to anapparatus for containing a fluid. The apparatus comprises a body havingan upper portion and a lower portion. The upper portion of the body hasa throat section. The throat section has an aperture formed therein forpermitting liquid to be poured into and out of the body. The apparatusfurther includes a vent member for permitting an external gas to passinto- the body while a liquid is poured out of the body. The vent memberis disposed entirely w within the body. The vent member has first andsecond ends. The first end of the vent member is positioned adjacent theaperture formed in the throat section of the upper portion of the body.The second end of the vent member is removed from the aperture formed inthe throat section of the upper portion of the body. The apparatusincludes securement means for securing the vent member to the body. Thesecurement means for securing the vent member to the body and the ventmember are disposed entirely on one side of a vertical plane passingthrough a center point of the throat section.

Still another embodiment of the present invention is directed to amethod of adapting a liquid container to allow for a liquid to be pouredfrom the liquid container while simultaneously allowing air to pass intothe liquid container to ensure that the liquid is dispensed in acontinuous and uninterrupted manner. The method comprises the step ofproviding a vent member having first and second ends. The first andseconds ends each have an opening. The vent member further includes apassageway connecting the first end to the second end. The method alsoincludes the step of forming a liquid container having a body and aclosure member for sealing the body. The step of forming the liquidcontainer is performed such that the liquid container is not modified inany manner to accommodate the vent member. The method includes thefurther step of positioning at least a portion of the vent member in thecontainer such that air will pass through the vent member while liquidis dispensed from the liquid container. The method includes the furtherstep of permanently securing the vent member to the container.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a side elevation view of a preferred embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary cross-sectional view of the preferred embodimentof the present invention depicted in FIG. 1 during the dispensingprocess.

FIG. 3 is a plan view of the preferred embodiment depicted in FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary cross-sectional view of a first alternativeembodiment of the present invention during the dispensing process.

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary cross-sectional view of a second alternativeembodiment of the present invention during the dispensing process.

FIG. 6 is cross-sectional view of a third alternative embodiment of thepresent invention during the dispensing process.

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of the cover of the embodiment depictedin FIG. 6.

FIG. 8 is a bottom view of the cover of the embodiment depicted in FIG.6.

FIG. 9 is a fragmentary plan view of the cover of the embodimentdepicted in FIG. 6.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION

The preferred forms of the invention will now be described withreference to FIGS. 1-9. The appended claims are not limited to thepreferred forms and no term used herein is to be given a meaning otherthan its ordinary meaning unless it is expressly stated that the termshall have a special meaning.

FIGS. 1 Through 5

Referring to FIG. 1, a fluid container A is illustrated in one of manypossible configurations. The fluid container A, as illustrated in FIG.1, is a plastic, transparent, two liter container having a body 2, alower portion 3 and an upper portion 4. However, it will be readilyappreciated by one of ordinary skill in the art that the fluid containerA may be formed from any suitable material to any desired size. Thelower portion 3 of the body 2 is preferably formed such that the fluidcontainer A is free standing when set down on a substantially flatsurface.

Referring to FIGS. 1 to 3, the upper portion 4 includes a throat section6. As seen in FIGS. 2 and 3, an opening 8 is formed in the uppermostportion of the throat section 6 to allow a liquid to be poured into ordispensed from the fluid container A. The exterior surface of the throatsection 6 includes threads 9 to receive a cap or other closure member(not shown) in a fluid tight manner to seal the fluid container A.

Preferably, a vent tube 10 is permanently secured to the inner surfaceof the body 2 adjacent the opening 8. Preferably, the vent tube 10 issecured to the body 2 after the fluid container A has been formed sothat the process of fabricating the fluid container A is not altered inany fashion. Further, it is preferred to permanently secure the venttube 10 prior to the process of filling the fluid container A or atleast prior to shipping the fluid container A for distribution to theconsumer so that the consumer need not be burdened with installing thevent tube 10. The vent tube 10 has a first end 12 and a second end 14.The first end 12 and the second end 14 have openings 16 and 18,respectively, to create a fluid passageway or channel 20. Preferably,the first end 12 is disposed in the same plane as the uppermost portionof body 2 or is slightly recessed therefrom so that a cap or otherclosure member may be secured to the fluid container A when the venttube 10 is installed.

The vent tube 10 may be permanently secured to the inner surface of thebody 2 using any of a variety of techniques including ultrasonicwelding, thermal welding, chemical bonding or other suitable technique.Preferably, the vent tube 10 abuts the inner wall of the body 2 alongsubstantially the entire length of the vent tube 10.

The vent tube 10 may be formed from an opaque and/or colored material sothat the vent tube 10 is readily visible through the transparent body 2enabling the consumer to readily orient the vent tube 10 in thepositions depicted in FIGS. 2,4 and 5 during dispensing. However, itwill be readily appreciated by one of ordinary skill in the art that thevent tube 10 can be formed from any suitable material.

As seen in FIG. 3, the vent tube 10 occupies only a minor portion of thearea of the throat section 6. Preferably, the vent tube 10 occupiessubstantially less than ¼ of the area of the throat section 6. Thisdesign prevents the vent tube 10 from significantly hampering theprocesses of filling or emptying the fluid container A. Further, it ispreferable to ensure that the vent tube 10 and the securement means aredisposed entirely on one side of a vertical plane B passing through acenter point C of the throat section 6 as illustrated in FIG. 3.

FIGS. 4 and 5 illustrate two of many alternative methods of securing thevent tube 10 to the body 2. In FIG. 4, the vent tube 10 is secured tothe body 2 at various points along the vent tube 10. In FIG. 5, the venttube 10 is secured at points only adjacent the first end 12.Alternatively, the vent tube 10 could be secured to body 2 alongsubstantially the entire length of the vent tube 10.

The vent tube 10 as seen in FIGS. 2, 4 and 5 creates a fluid passageway20 that allows air to pass into the fluid container A while fluid issimultaneously being dispensed from fluid container A to ensure that thefluid is dispensed in a continuous and uninterrupted fashion.

FIGS. 6 Through 9

Referring to FIG. 6, a fluid container D is illustrated in one of manypossible configurations embodying one of many possible modified forms ofthe present invention. The fluid container D, as illustrated in FIG. 6,is a plastic, five-gallon paint container. Once again, it will bereadily appreciated by one of ordinary skill in the art that thematerial and size of the fluid container D may be varied. The fluidcontainer D includes a body 22 having a lower portion 24 and an upperportion 26. The lower portion 24 of the body 22 is preferably formedsuch that the fluid container D is free standing when set down on asubstantially flat surface.

As seen in FIGS. 6 and 7, the upper portion 26 of the body 22 mayinclude a lid 28 having a throat section 30. As seen in FIGS. 6 and 7,an opening 32 is formed in the uppermost portion of the throat section30 to allow a liquid to be poured into or dispensed from the fluidcontainer D. A removable cap (not shown) may be seated over the throatsection 30 to seal the fluid container D.

Preferably, a vent tube 40 is permanently secured to the inner surfaceof the lid 28 adjacent the opening 32. Preferably, the vent tube 40 issecured to the lid 28 after the fluid container D has been formed sothat the process of fabricating the fluid container D or any componentthereof (e.g. the lid) is not altered in any fashion. Further, it ispreferred to permanently secure the vent tube 40 prior to the process offilling the fluid container D or at least prior to shipping the fluidcontainer D for distribution to the consumer so that the consumer neednot be burdened with installing the vent tube 40.

The vent tube 40 has a first end 42, a second end 44 and a pair of ribs46 and 48 to facilitate the permanent securement of the vent tube 40 tothe lid 28. The ribs 46 and 48 may be formed as one piece with the venttube 40. The first end 42 and the second end 44 have openings 50 and 52,respectively, to create a fluid passageway or channel 54. Preferably,the first end 42 is disposed in the same plane as the uppermost portionof lid 28 or is slightly recessed therefrom so that a cap or otherclosure member (not shown) may be secured to the fluid container D whenthe vent tube 40 is installed.

The vent tube 40 may be permanently secured to the inner surface of thelid 28 via securement ribs 46 and 48 using any of a variety oftechniques including ultrasonic welding, thermal welding, chemicalbonding or other suitable technique.

As seen in FIGS. 8 and 9, the vent tube 40 occupies only a minor portionof the area of the throat section 30. Preferably, the vent tube 40occupies substantially less than ¼ of the area of the throat section 30.This design prevents the vent tube 40 from significantly hampering theprocesses of filling or emptying the fluid container D. Further, it ispreferable to ensure that the vent tube 40 and the securement means aredisposed entirely on one side of a vertical plane E passing through acenter point F of the throat section 30 as illustrated in FIG. 9.

While this invention has been described as having a preferred design, itis understood that the preferred design can be further modified oradapted following in general the principles of the invention andincluding but not limited to such departures from the present inventionas come within the known or customary practice in the art to which theinvention pertains. The claims are not limited to the preferredembodiment and have been written to preclude such a narrow constructionusing the principles of claim differentiation.

1. An apparatus for containing a fluid, said apparatus comprising: (a) abody having an upper portion and a lower portion, said upper portion ofsaid body having an aperture formed therein for permitting liquid to bepoured into and out of said body; (b) a vent member being disposed insaid body, said vent member having first and second ends, said first endof said vent member being positioned adjacent said aperture formed insaid upper portion of said body, said second end of said vent memberbeing removed from said aperture formed in said upper portion of saidbody; (c) said first end and said second end of said vent member eachhaving an opening formed therein; (d) said vent member having a fluidpassageway for connecting said opening formed in said first end to saidopening formed in said second end to allow for an external gas to passthrough said vent member and into said body as liquid is poured out ofsaid body; and, (e) said vent member being permanently secured to saidbody.
 2. An apparatus as set forth in claim 1, wherein: (a) said lowerportion of said body being formed such that when said lower portion ofsaid body is set down on a substantially flat surface said body isfreestanding.
 3. An apparatus as set forth in claim 1, wherein: (a) saidupper portion of said body has a substantially circular horizontalcross-section with a predetermined first area; (b) said first end ofsaid vent member occupies a minor portion of said first area.
 4. Anapparatus as set forth in claim 3, wherein: (a) said first end of saidvent member occupies less than ¼ of said first area.
 5. An apparatus asset forth in claim 1, wherein: (a) said body has at least one sidewall,said vent member is ultrasonically welded to said at least one sidewallof said body.
 6. An apparatus as set forth in claim 1, wherein: (a) saidbody and said vent member are formed from plastic.
 7. An apparatus asset forth in claim 1, wherein: (a) said body is formed from atransparent material; and, (b) said vent member further includinglocation identifying means so that a user can readily orient said bodyduring pouring such that the vent member is properly positioned.
 8. Anapparatus for containing a fluid, said apparatus comprising: (a) a bodyhaving an upper portion and a lower portion, said upper portion of saidbody having a throat section, said throat section having an apertureformed therein for permitting liquid to be poured into and out of saidbody; (b) a vent member for permitting an external gas to pass into saidbody while a liquid is poured out of said body, said vent member beingdisposed entirely within said body, said vent member having first andsecond ends, said first end of said vent member being positionedadjacent said aperture formed in said throat section of said upperportion of said body, said second end of said vent member being removedfrom said aperture formed in said throat section of said upper portionof said body; (c) securement means for securing said vent member to saidbody; and, (d) said securement means for securing said vent member tosaid body and said vent member being disposed entirely on one side of avertical plane passing through a center point of said throat section. 9.An apparatus as set forth in claim 8, wherein: (a) said throat sectionhaving a cross-sectional area less than the cross-sectional area of saidlower portion of said body.
 10. An apparatus as set forth in claim 8,wherein: (a) said vent member is permanently secured to said body. 11.An apparatus as set forth in claim 8, wherein: (a) said body has atleast one sidewall, said at least one sidewall of said body abuts saidvent member along substantially the entire length of said vent member.12. An apparatus as set forth in claim 8, wherein: (a) said body has atleast one sidewall, said vent member is permanently secured to said atleast one sidewall of said body adjacent said second end of said ventmember.
 13. A method of adapting a liquid container to allow for aliquid to be poured from the liquid container while simultaneouslyallowing air to pass into the liquid container to ensure that the liquidis dispensed in a continuous and uninterrupted manner, said methodcomprising the steps of: (a) providing a vent member having first andsecond ends, said first and seconds ends each having an opening, saidvent member further including a passageway connecting said first end tosaid second end; (b) forming a liquid container having a body and aclosure member for sealing said body, said step of forming said liquidcontainer being performed such that the liquid container is not modifiedin any manner to accommodate the vent member; (c) positioning at least aportion of said vent member in said container such that air will passthrough the vent member while liquid is being dispensed from the liquidcontainer; and, (d) permanently securing said vent member to saidcontainer.
 14. The method as set forth in claim 13, including thefurther step of: (a) filling the liquid container with a liquid, saidfilling step being performed after said step of permanently securing thevent member to the liquid container.
 15. The method as set forth inclaim 13, wherein: (a) the first end of the vent member is aligned withthe uppermost portion of said body prior to step (d) such that when step(d) is performed the first end of the vent member lies in substantiallythe same horizontal plane as the uppermost portion of said body.
 16. Themethod as set forth in claim 13, wherein: (a) the vent member is weldedto at least a portion of the body.
 17. The method as set forth in claim16, wherein: (a) the vent member is thermally welded to at least aportion of the body.
 18. The method as set forth in claim 16, wherein:(a) the vent member is ultrasonically welded to at least a portion ofthe body.
 19. The method as set forth in claim 13, wherein: (a) the ventmember is chemically bonded to at least a portion of the body.
 20. Anapparatus for containing a fluid, said apparatus comprising: (a) a bodyhaving an upper portion and a lower portion, said upper portion of saidbody having an aperture formed therein for permitting liquid to bepoured into and out of said body; (b) a vent member being disposed insaid body, said vent member having a fluid passageway allowing anexternal gas to pass through said vent member and into said body asliquid is poured out of said body; and, (b) said vent member beingpermanently secured to said body.